Innocence Lost

Chapter 11 (Capture the flag)

The next morning I woke up with a throbbing headache. Eric was right, I'll be paying for it today.  Caroline was moaning on the cot next to me.  She turned over and I heard a loud thump.

"Ouch!" She cried.

Amanda looks at her and laughs.

"It's not funny" Caroline complained, rubbing her ass.

I dragged myself out of bed so I could wash my face and try to wake myself up.  It wasn't working.  Then I just remembered I still had the pills I used when I had a concussion.  I gave one to  Caroline and Amanda before we left to grab some breakfast.  Not sure if that was a smart idea. It was still early so there weren't many people around.  We ate quickly then headed to the training room.

When we got there, Four was already there with Lauren.  No Eric.  He probably has a hangover of his own.

"Initiates, how are you feeling this morning?"  Four asks.

"Not as bad as when I first woke up" I responded. 

Caroline and Amanda were standing there, leaning on each other. Lauren laughs at our expense.

The rest of the initiates started to trickle in. Poor Jesse looked horrible.

"Hey Jesse, are you ok?" Caroline asked concerned.

"Yeah, I'll live" he said sickly.

Eric busts through the doors, taking one look at the hungover initiates.

"This is unacceptable! Everyone run the parameter until I say to stop" He yelled.

We all were taken by surprise. Caroline and I look at each other wide eyed.  Eric had us running for a good hour. Most of us were on the verge of collapsing but he didn't care. He then made us do sit-ups and push-ups until we were instructed to stop. My stomach and arms were so sore. I collapsed a couple times only to get yelled at by Eric to get up. He yelled at everyone that day. I guess this was our punishment for getting wasted last night. It wasn't over just yet. After we took a ten minute break he made us do it all over again, but this time he brought us outside in the scorching heat. By the time he made us stop it was lunch time.  

"I hope this teaches you all a fucking lesson not to get trashed when you have training the next day" Eric shouted.

Most of us were laying on the floor when he dismissed us for lunch. We were too tired to even eat anything. When we got back to the training room Four called us over to where he was standing. There were a few tables lined up with knives laid out on them. They were small and sharp. Eric was standing next to him with his arms crossed.

"Today we will begin learning how to throw knives at a target." Four said caressing the blade between his fingers before he whirled it at the board, hitting it dead center.

"Being Dauntless you are expected to be able to fight any threat by any means necessary. If a dangerous situation does occur you will be grateful for having learned this skill"

The targets were shaped like people and they seemed to be made of a synthetic plastic. The targets were set back about twenty feet from the throwing lines.

"You will each stand in front of a target and practice for yourselves once I'm done demonstrating. Stance is everything but you'll need power behind your throw as well. You'll each get five knives and at the end of each throwing session the chance to retrieve your knives. Pay attention, I'm only demonstrating this once" Four continued.